


Headed North

by maevemil



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Background Simarkus, Canon-Typical Violence, Changed the Timeline, Detective side story, F/F, M/M, North needs love, Slow Build, Slow Burn, With Connor and Hank, because shit happens way too fast in canon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-11
Updated: 2019-02-18
Packaged: 2019-07-10 21:48:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 6,973
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15958199
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/maevemil/pseuds/maevemil
Summary: “Humans aren't allowed here,” North said, pointing her gun at the woman in front of her, her face cold, but her solid red LED betrayed her fear.“I- I heard this was a safe place for androids,” The woman stammered “Please.”She nodded towards the child sleeping in her arms and pushed her pink baseball cap up to show North her LED.“I just want to keep my baby safe,” she pleaded.





	1. Chapter 1

 

November 21st 2038

01:04 AM

 

Bellona could hear shouting behind her as she sped up, holding Amari’s hand as tightly as she could. It probably had nothing to do with them, but it was late, and she didn't want to take that chance.

“Come on honey, we're not far,” she whispered, pointing to the mural on the building in front of them. “Okay, now scan this one.”

She watched as her daughter's led flickered softly, and the photo in her hand changed again.

“Mommy, I'm tired,” Amari complained, rubbing her eyes and yawning.

Bell sighed, and picked up her daughter, holding her in her arms and letting her close her eyes. Amari was heavier than most children, but she needed to rest or she'd force shutdown, so this was her only option.

She continued onwards, hoping they really were close. Maybe Jericho was just a myth, and this trail lead to nothing. Or even worse, to a trap? Bell had heard rumours of people catching runaway androids, promising them safety, and taking them apart to sell the first chance they got. She shivered at the thought, but this was Amari’s only chance, so she had to keep going.

The next painting led to the roof of a very decrepit building, and Amari had to wake up so they could climb. The roof was falling apart, and for once Bell was glad her daughter wasn't human, because there was no way she'd have been able to get a normal child across it.

They made it into the building, and for a minute they couldn't find the next symbol, and Bell began to panic.

She sat Amari down to rest, and began to move debris away from the floor and walls, trying not to let her daughter see her panic.

Moving through a doorway, she started to think that maybe this was the dead end she had been afraid of, and was planning where they could go from here when she stepped outside, and saw… _Jericho_.

Relief washed over her, she ran back inside to get Amari, and they crossed over to the ship.

Now they only had to worry about whoever they would find here.

 

* * *

 

North was with Markus when they heard the footsteps.

In the weeks after Markus's arrival, more and more androids started to deviate, and as a result, Jericho was filling up fast. Already that day a group of three androids, and one lone android had arrived. Even with their giant haul from his first day, and the smaller hauls peppered in throughout the weeks, they had started to run out of parts for all the injured androids they were sheltering once again.

Another big heist was due, and soon, but the humans were on edge from his speech two days ago, and North had been trying to convince him it was worth the risk when they heard the tell-tale signs of a new arrival.

Markus was usually the first to greet these new androids, but looking at him, North knew he needed a break.

“Look, it's okay Markus, I'll greet this one.”

“No, North-”

“Take a break. I'm- I'm sorry about Simon, but you need some time to breathe, okay?”

He sighed, and nodded, looking more tired than North thought she had ever seen him.

She walked over to the door, but turned back to face him before she exited.

“It's going to be okay Markus. We can do this.”

He gave no response, and North left, closing the door softly behind her, and heading towards the source of the noise.

 


	2. Chapter 2

Bell and Amari were making their way through the ship, listening to the footsteps that were slowly approaching them. Her nerves were on edge as they rounded the corner, and finally met the source of these footsteps.

“Who are you?”

“Um. My name is Bellona,” She responded nervously, as the woman looked her up and down, before her eyes settled on the side of Bell’s face.

“You're- you're human! How did you find this place!?” The woman raised her gun, pointing it at the two of them, with a terrified look on her face (further proved by her LED which was quickly circling red).

“I- I just followed the signs. I know I'm not supposed to be here, but I just need- somewhere safe, please.”

“Safe?” The woman sneered, “You don't need safety. This place is about safety for androids. Humans aren't allowed here,” she said, her face scowling, but her solid red LED betrayed her fear once again.

“I- I heard this was a safe place for androids,” Bell stammered “Please.”

She nodded towards Amari, who was sleeping in her arms, and moved her pink baseball cap to show the android her LED. “I just want to keep my baby safe.” She pleaded.

The woman looked stunned.

“Your… Your baby?”

“Yes, my Amari. Please, I can't let them take her! They'll kill her.”

The woman sighed, and, moving to the side so she could pass, gestured Bell further into the ship.

“I'm not lowering this gun, but… I'll let you talk to Markus. Don't try anything funny or I _will shoot_.”

Bell nodded, and allowed herself to be led to whoever this Markus was _._

 

* * *

 

North was cautious, but uncertain about this new woman. Bellona, she had called herself. She had an android child with her, but who knows, maybe she was some sort of spy for the humans, or something like that, and the child still wasn't a deviant.

North... did not like humans. _But_ , she couldn't just let her leave with the child, spy or not, they had to take care of their own, especially the children. So, she decided to take her to Markus, and just trust his judgment.

“North, what are you doing?!”

Ugh. Josh.

“I'm taking this woman to see Markus.”

“And _why_ exactly are you pointing a gun at her head while you do it?”

“She's a human,” North explained “We can't trust her.”

“She is?” He peered at her temple curiously “How did you find Jericho then?”

“My daughter was able to scan the paintings, and I was able to figure out where the next ones were.”

“Your daughter,” he looked down at the child in Bellona’s arms, Amari, “is an _android_ ?” He turned to North and smiled “See North? Humans _can_ care about androids.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, but only if she’s telling the truth. Now get out of my way, I'm taking her to Markus.”

 

* * *

 

 

“Markus? I know I told you I'd take this one, but this is pretty important.”

“North? What's the problem then?” The two of them, North and Bellona, stepped into Markus's room, and he immediately stood up as soon as he noticed the other woman North was arriving with.

“A human?”

“She arrived claiming she needed someplace safe for her android kid. She could be some sort of spy, if it were up to me I'd throw her out, but I knew you'd want the final say.”

North wasn't telling the entire truth really. If it were up to her the human would be tossed out or killed, yes, but she refused to abandon one of their one, and she knew Bellona wouldn't leave without her and she couldn’t kill anyone, so she was stuck. Really, she knew what Markus would say: _We can't fight them, we need to show them we aren't violent,_ but Markus was their leader, and had helped them a lot, so she just had to trust his judgement on this.

Then again, maybe he was so shaken by their recent visit to Stratford Tower, that he wouldn't be willing to risk anymore of their own. Whatever. He knew about the two of them now, so all her control over the situation was gone and there was nothing she could do about it.

“Um… Hello.” Bellona was shaking as Markus stared at her, stunned.

“Hello.” Markus stood back from her, and seemed to pull himself together. ”I’m Markus. I’m..” He hesitated. “The leader here.” Bellona nodded, still intimidated despite his attempted approachability.

“I- I know you don’t want humans here, and I get that but, my daughter! I _can’t_ keep her safe anywhere else! With the way we left they’ll figure it out as soon as we go back!” She seemed to be panicking, and North wondered who exactly she was running from.

“Calm down, Calm down,” Markus said calmly, putting a firm hand on her shoulder. “We’ll let you and your daughter stay here, we won’t just abandon our people, and we won’t just kick you out either.”

North could see Bellona’s shoulders relax as Markus assured her of her safety, but she didn’t like this decision.

“Are you serious?! We can’t just start letting humans into Jericho!”

“North.” Markus gave her a death stare, and she stopped her yelling for a moment. He turned to Bellona. “Why don’t you go wait outside, maybe talk to Josh about somewhere for your daughter to rest, okay?” She nodded and headed out the door. As soon as she was out of earshot North started her protesting again.

“What if she brings more dangerous humans here?! Even if she _is_ harmless, we can’t trust her!”

“Well then what do you want to do? We can’t just kick her out and let her daughter die!”

“Her daughter can stay, but we need to do something about her now that she knows about Jericho.”

“Do something?! What, you want to kill her?!”

“I don’t know?! If we have to!”

“ _If we have to?!_ Are you actually serious!? We are not killing _anyone._ ”

“Even if it’s the only choice? What, you want all of us to die instead?”

“What if not everyone is evil North? Maybe we can just trust someone?”

“You know that’s not what I mean, but I haven’t met a human yet that doesn’t think of us as… objects.”

At that, Markus seemed to calm down slightly. “I know North, but, please trust me, they exist. She can’t tell anyone where we’re hiding if she doesn’t leave, but we are _not_ killing her.”

“...Alright. But I’m staying cautious, so don’t expect me to go anywhere near her.”

“That’s fine, I’m not going to force you to do anything you’re not comfortable with.”

North knew this was the best she was going to get, so she nodded and left. 


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back! I promise, this fic hasn't been abandoned, school is just awful :P. Winter break is fast approaching however, so I promise to get out at least one more chapter before that ends (and probably at least one Christmas fic too, dbh or not), so I hope you guys are still interested!

“She can sleep here” Josh gestured to the dilapidated bed in the corner of the room. It didn’t look very comfortable, but Bell knew this was probably the best they had.

“Thank you.” she smiled at Josh, and lay Amari down on the bed, tucking her in, and stepping back. Watching her sleep peacefully after the night they had just had made her feel a bit more optimistic about their future.

“Do you want to see more of the ship? I can introduce you to some of the others if you’d like.”

She looked back at Amari, who was sleeping, for a second.

“She’ll be fine in here, I promise.”

The adrenaline was still rushing through her veins after everything that had happened in the last few days, and Bell knew she would not be able to sleep yet.

“Alright, let’s go.”

They made their way back to the main area, and as she looked around at the other androids in the room, she remembered someone.

“Is there anyone named Sadiya here?! She's an AJ700 model.”

“I don't know anyone who goes by that name here. I'm sorry.”

Bell felt her stomach drop.

“Oh. Okay then.” Maybe she was on her way. Maybe she'd just gotten lost. Or held up. Or something…  

She felt herself start to tear up, but quickly wiped them away, and took a deep breath.

_Stay calm Bellona. We knew this might happen. She took that risk knowing, and there was nothing you could do. Anything else could have gotten Amari killed, and neither of you wanted that._

Josh looked at her knowingly. “I'm sorry.” He said, putting a hand on her shoulder, a sad look on his face. “If you don't mind me asking, why do you want to know?”

“She was the one who gave us the map to Jericho. Her and Amari were close, and if it weren't for her, she'd probably be dead right now. She left a day before us though. If she's not here yet, I- I don't know if she'll ever be.”

“Oh.” Josh responded, and Bellona nodded at him. “I'm really sorry. We hear that a lot here.”

“Mm, I'm sure.” Bell didn't want to continue with this topic, so she began to scan the room for someone she could strike up a conversation with.

She noticed the woman from before (Josh had called her North) storm out of Markus's room, looking frustrated. They made eye contact, and Bell waved shyly. She was ignored, and North stormed past.

“Yeah, North doesn't like humans much. I have a feeling she isn't too happy that you're staying, and an even stronger feeling she made sure that Markus knew exactly that.”

“Yeah, I sort of got that impression.” Bell stared sadly at North as she exited.

* * *

 

Bell spent the next few hours meeting and chatting with as many of the androids who _would_ talk with her as possible. Soon, however, the adrenaline began to wear off and she returned to the room Josh had shown her to sleep.

A little bit later, North noticed Amari sitting alone in the main room.

“Hello,” she smiled and sat down next to her ”What are you doing sitting here alone?”

“My mom is sleeping,” she kicked her feet out and sighed. “There's nothing to do here.”

“Yeah, it can get pretty boring here. Maybe we can find something you can do?”

“Okay” She replied, still looking sad.

“What sort of stuff did you guys do before that?”

Amari’s face lit up and she started on a new tangent.

"I would play games with Mommy. Or with my friends. But then Mommy said I wasn't allowed to see them anymore, and I wasn't allowed to go out and play, or run errands with her, or visit Sadiya, or anything fun! Now I guess I really can't at all." She frowned, like she was only just realizing this "How come you guys aren't bored _all the time_?"

“Well, there are _some_ things you can do for fun here.”

“Like what?” She looked up hopefully.

“Well... We could tell a story?”

“How?”

“I'll start, okay? You just jump in if you have any suggestions for it, does that sound good?” Amari nodded enthusiastically, and moved to sit in front of North, watching her expectantly.

“Alright. Once upon a time there was a little android dog named Maggie.”

“Oh! And her best friend and favorite human, Emma!”

North smiled at Amari’s contribution and continued.

* * *

 

”Then, Maggie's friend Emma heard a sound in the other room!”

“She told Maggie to be as quiet as she could, and snuck over to peek inside.”

“And in the room she saw-” Amari paused, turning to the entrance, where someone had just entered. “Oh!! There's Mommy! Can she come play too?”

North looked up at the person Amari was waving to, and sure enough, there was Bellona. She felt herself start to panic. There was no way she was sticking around this human any longer then she had to, no matter how sweet Amari was.

“Um, I'm sorry Amari, I actually have to go.”

“What? How come?”

“I just- I need to work on something with... Markus. We can finish our story later, I promise. Now you've even got more time to think about who the thief was, okay?” and with that, she got up and rushed out of the room.

* * *

 

 _Well, I guess she's going to avoid me forever._ Bellona sighed to herself, resigned to never being able to interact with about half the androids on this ship. She didn't blame them, really, it was just frustrating that she couldn't even casually converse with them. She didn't enjoy being disliked by this many people. Especially when she was going to be living in such close proximity to all of them for god knows how long.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I told you I'd do it! This, tragically, isn't Christmas themed, but hey, have a Merry Christmas everyone!

November 21st 2038

10:08 AM

 

Connor stood beside Lieutenant Anderson as he knocked, loudly, on the door to the warm looking home they stood in front of. This was their second visit to this home in the past week, a follow up to a previous, unsuccessful, questioning. Connor was certain the woman they had talked to had been lying and, despite Lt. Anderson’s complaints, had requested a return to the house. This was proving to be unhelpful as, even with Lt. Anderson’s insistent knocking, no one was answering, and it was beginning to seem that the woman they needed to speak with, wasn't currently at home.

“Well, this was a complete waste of my fucking time. You satisfied? Or am I going to have to sit here while you break in, ‘just in case’?”

Connor looked away from the window he had been staring at, turning to face his partner. “No Lieutenant, we don't currently have a warrant so, even if it would be helpful to search the house, I wouldn't be able to. It makes no difference however. We are here to speak with Bellona Mires, if she isn't here, we have no reason to stay.”

“So can we go back to the station? If you're going to make dragging me out of bed at an ungodly time in the morning an everyday thing, I'd appreciate it if you'd at least let me make some fucking coffee, shitty as the stuff at the station may be, before we have to start on any cases”

Connor ignored the other man's complaining as he scanned the house, ringing the doorbell one last time, before standing back and responding.

“Her android isn't here.”

“Her what? Her daughter you mean?”

“Yes, the blonde YK500.”

“Wouldn't she be at some sort of daycare or school or something?”

“Android children don't go to school. They're usually left home during the day. It'd be ‘sleeping’ but it should still answer the door, or respond to emergencies.”

“So her mom decided to send her somewhere else for the day. So what? Maybe it's take your kid to work day or something, it doesn't mean anything.”

Connor shook his head. “We can't just ignore this. We know where she works, we need to be completely certain that there is nothing important going on here. Let's go.”

 

* * *

 

November 21st 2038

02:38 PM

 

Bellona was sitting with Amari in “their room”, listening to her ramble on about all the new friends she had made while her mom was asleep when they heard the yelling.

“Mommy? Is something wrong?”

“Everything's fine sweetpea. Just... Play in here while I go see what all the ruckus is about, alright?”

“M-kay” Amari said, the worry in her eyes not budging despite her mother's attempts at calming her down.

Closing the door softly behind her, Bell headed towards the apparent source of all the yelling, which, luckily for her, seemed to be close by, in the main section of the boat. She turned the corner into the room, and saw three of the androids she had met last night (Markus, North and Josh), talking animatedly with another, blond, android she didn't recognize. North seemed to be talking the loudest, looking frustrated, with wet eyes, while Josh was standing between her and this newcomer, and Markus stood next to him, holding his hand, and looking very relieved.

As she stepped into the room, she noticed a few other androids sitting around, watching, but no one else had stepped up to intervene. Taking this as a sign, she slid inside as quietly as she could, and waited on the outskirts of the room to see how this would play out.

“Look, North, I know you guys were worried okay? I'm sorry. But there was seriously nothing I could do. I barely even survived, I-”

“I don't care! You couldn't have sent one message?!”

“I- I was just worried it'd get me cau-”

“Whatever.” North wiped her eyes, obviously trying, and failing, to be subtle about it. “Whatever, whatever, whatever. Fuck! I thought we'd never see you again! Don't ever do that again, okay? I thought you were gone for sure after you got shot. Goddammit and I made them leave you behind.” She began to tear up again “Oh god, Simon, I'm so sorry.” She pushed past Josh, pulling this blond android, Simon, into a hug, and continuing to talk, muffled, into his shoulder.

“I tried to just ignore it, but everything has just been so shitty these past few days. I don't know what I'd have done if you hadn't come back.”

“You would have been fine North, and you know it.” Simon responded, letting go of Markus's hand and reciprocating the hug.

She sniffled, and pulled away, smiling at him.

“Maybe,” she laughed “but you know it would have sucked.”

He laughed back “Well, I would think so. At least Markus has kept you and Josh from tearing each other apart while I've been gone.”

“Well, not for lack of trying” Markus interjected, and North rolled her eyes.

“We're not children you know.” Josh chimed in.

“Well-ll. Not technically at least.”

The volume of their conversation having lowered significantly, Bellona noticed the androids around her that had been watching intensely return to their own conversations, and she wondered if she should take this chance to find out who this Simon was. She knew North would avoid her, so she gave them a few more minutes to chat before moving over to the middle of the room, and inserting herself into their chatting.

“Um, heyy. Sorry for interrupting, but I'm assuming you're the Simon everyone's been worried about, right?”

“Well, not anymore, but I believe so, yes. And you are?”

“Um, I've got to go,” North interrupted, as Bell expected, “I'm _so_ glad you're not dead, but, bye.” she rushed off.

“Um-” Bell watched North leave the room, slightly distracted by her frustration at the futility of the hope she was holding onto that they could be friends, or at least have a even slightly friendly conversation.

“This is Bellona,” Markus supplied for her. “She's here with her daughter.”

“And North dislikes her more then usual because…?”

“Well, I don't think she's happy about having a human in Jericho. That's my best guess at least.”

“Wait.” He froze “You're a human? Why _are_ you here?”

“My daughter. I may be human, but she isn't, and there's no way I'm leaving her all alone here. Especially not when she's beginning to figure out exactly _why_ we're here.”

He looked shocked, and Bellona hoped that Simon and North would have different opinions on humans, despite their obvious friendship.

“Wow.” He finally managed. “We have quite a few android children here, and yet you are the _only_ parent that came as well. I don't know why North still doesn't like you. Thank you.”

“Well, she is my daughter. I promised to take care of her when I first met her. What kind of a mother would I be if _this_ was where I drew the line?”

He nodded. “Well, if you ever need anything, I'm here to help.” Bell nodded gratefully, and returned to Amari to let her know what had been going on.

She stood outside the door for a minute before doing anything, thinking about what she had just told Simon.

_God, Amari's too smart for this shit. She's too young to have to deal with any of this bullshit, but there's no way I could keep all of it from her. She's not stupid, but she's still just a scared little kid. I'm her mom, but how am I even supposed to be able to protect her against any of this, dear god._

She took a deep breath, pushing all thoughts of helplessness and panic from her mind, and went back inside.

 

* * *

 

 

November 21st 2038

10:58 AM

 

“Nah, Bell isn't here today.”

“And why is that? Has she taken a sick day?”

“Nope, just a vacation day.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, she had some sort of family emergency yesterday I guess. She's taking the rest of her vacation days, and potentially her sick days too, if she isn't back in time.”

“And when did she tell you this?”

“Ehh, sometime in the morning, about two days ago.”

“Well shit, you were right.”

Connor immediately turned to the Lieutenant, and he could see that this time, he knew it too. Unless there was some sort of crazy coincidence (one with about a 2.33334% chance of happening according to Connor's calculations), there was no way that she had some kind of very important, very urgent and very vague family emergency within about two or three hours of being questioned by the police. Bellona Mires had run away from the police, taking her almost certainly deviant YK500 with her.


	5. Chapter 5

November 23rd 2038

08:22 AM

 

Bellona woke to the sound of her stomach grumbling, and her daughter “snoring”. 

The snoring was an easy assessment, Amari hadn't had her regular checkup this month, and she was an old model. It was a purely superficial problem, luckily for them, and honestly, it was comforting to hear as she woke up. The empty stomach, however, was a problem.

 

* * *

 

“Markus, I'm out of the food that I brought, do you guys have  _ anything _ I could eat _?  _ Like, at all?”

Markus, who had been sitting with Simon, until she barged in, looked up.

“No, there's nothing. No humans have been here for years, unless you can find some sort of refrigerator filled with food hidden somewhere on the ship, I think you're out of luck.”

“Shit.” she considered her options for a minute. “I’ve got to go on a supply run then.”

“Are you sure?” Simon interjected, “Our last mission was… dangerous.”

“Well, I'll have to figure out how to deal with the danger, because this is in no way optional. I came here just in case, but if you've got nothing, then I guess I'm here to ask for your permission to head out.”

Markus sighed. “Well it's not really like I can say no. I guess it's a yes, or you starve to death, so sure. Just be careful, alright?”

“Well, it should be safer for me then for any of you, considering I'm much less recognizable, so don't worry.”

“Are you serious!?” North shouted from the other side of the room. She had entered quietly while they were talking, but Bellona hadn't taken any notice until now. “You're just going to let her go out alone? She could lead anyone right to us!”

“North, were you seriously just eavesdropping on our whole conversation?”

“Once I heard  _ her  _ talking,” she pointed, accusatory, at Bell, “obviously I did. And a good thing too! She'll lead them all right to us.”

“And why exactly, would  _ I  _ want to do  _ that _ ? My daughter's here, in case you've forgotten!”

“And what reason do we have to believe that you even care? She could very easily just be a ploy, your in so that you can bring us all down.”

“How dare you!!”

“North! Stop!” 

North turned from yelling at Bellona to look at Simon, who had walked over to beside her while they had been having their screaming match.

“What.”

“Look, I know you don't trust her, but we're not going to just let her starve because you wanted us to be extra wary. We've done all we can to keep people from finding us here, we need to have some faith, and let her go on a short, half hour supply run.”

“A half hour is long enough. The police are on edge after our broadcast, you know that Simon!”

He sighed. “Well then North, what exactly do you want us to do instead?”

“Send somebody else. Somebody we can trust.”

“You want to risk someone's life just because you're a little scared of me? You know how much easier it'll be for me to go. An android, even someone who wasn't in the broadcast, would probably get caught, and then you'd _actually_ be screwed.”

“She's right,” Simon nodded, “I don't think it's worth risking that many lives for.”

“Then  _ I'll  _ go! I'll take the risk if it might save everyone else in Jericho!”

“We can't just send you by yourself so soon after breaking into Stratford Tower North. Your model isn't really supposed to be shopping, and we don't know how many of us they saw on the security cameras.” Markus started, finally joining in on the conversation, “You need some sort of backup, even if you don't think so.”

Simon seemed to think for a moment, before making a suggestion. “What if you went with her?”

“What if I what!?”

“She can do all the buying, and talking, and all that, and you can be there partially to make sure no one follows, and partially to keep track of her. How does that sound?”

North considered it. “And you definitely won't let me go alone?”

“Definitely not.”

She sighed. “Alright. I'll do it.”

Simon looked to Bell. “And you're alright with it as well?”

“As long as I get some food into my stomach, I seriously do not care.”

“Okay then, it's settled! Head out in a few minutes, and try to keep the run down to less than an hour. Got it?”

“Got it.” Bell nodded, and Simon back turned to North. 

“North?”

“Yeah, fine, let's go.”

 

* * *

 

 

“Alright, so I've got about fifty bucks, and I obviously can't get anything that needs cooking...”

“Are you serious?” North, who had been walking a few steps behind Bel, rushed up next to her. 

“What?”

“You're buying food? What are you going to do when you run out of money?”

“I'll figure it out.”

“Or you  _ could _ just take what you need, and save the money you've got for an actual emergency.”

“I'm not robbing anyone.”

North rolled her eyes “Not robbing, just some petty shoplifting. What, you too good to break the law a teeny, tiny bit? You realize that  _ some of us  _ are breaking the law just by existing right?”

“No, I-. I just don't want to hurt anybody. Besides, I don't think it's worth getting us both arrested, and you probably killed for a little bit of food that I  _ can  _ buy.”

“Oh, you don't wanna hurt anyone? We don't owe them anything. No one is going to starve if we take a few things, but most people wouldn't give you two dollars if it'd save your life.”

“And the police?”

“If we grab enough the first time, we can hide from them easily. It takes them too long to show up, we'll be able to get back to Jericho before they even arrive.”

“So you can't trust me to go shopping by myself, but your idea of ‘keeping an eye on’ me is convincing me to draw  _ more _ police attention to us?”

“If you're going to be staying with us for very long, you're going to have to start stealing your food eventually. Might as well get a head start  _ and _ have some money saved up for when there's no other choice.”

“And you're not just planning to get rid of me by getting us caught?”

“Now as much as I  _ do not  _ trust you, I'm not evil. Besides, your daughter is a sweetheart, I don't want her mad at me for getting her mother arrested.”

Bel smiled. “Thanks for taking care of her. She told me about how you were helping her with her boredom. I know you don't like me, but I appreciate it.”

“Yeah, well, we don't have many kids in Jericho, so she needed  _ someone  _ to play with.”

Bell nodded, “Well, if we're going to be stealing stuff anyway, maybe we could get something for her too.”

“Ah! My plan it is then,” she smirked, and Bell felt her face go red, feeling grateful for the cold. North wasn't  _ too _ bad when she wasn’t being intensely paranoid. “I know just the place too. Let's go.” 

“Um. Yeah, sure.” and she sped up her pace, following after as North lead her to whatever easy to rob store she had in mind.

 


	6. Chapter 6

**November 24th 2038**

**09:34 AM**

 

"Lieutenant Anderson! We've got a lead on the Bellona Mires case." Connor yelled, briskly walking up to Hank's desk, waving a tablet in his face before connecting it to his computer.  
  
"What?! What is it?"  
  
He nodded towards the computer. "Security footage. She was seen in a store last night. The people working at the time called the police when they saw her and another suspicious woman leaving the store without paying. When the police showed up they were already gone, but the security cameras picked up enough of her face to identify her. The woman she was with, however, was identified as a WR400 android."

“Another android? I thought she was just with her kid?”

“My best guess is that she found whatever hideout the deviants have been staying in, and has been helping them. We're going to have to keep an eye out for her, and for the WR400 android she was with. If we can follow them, they could easily lead us right back to their hiding place.”

 

* * *

 

**November 26th 2038**

**09:34 AM**

Bellona was bored. She had been staying at Jericho for almost a week now, and though she would never regret coming here, she did regret not bringing _anything_ to keep her occupied while they waited for this… revolution to run its course.

Amari, of course, was doing great, she had always been a friendly little girl, and with all the new androids showing up she was keeping entertained befriending them all. At the moment Bell could see her sitting in the corner, chatting up a storm, with two other child androids that had arrived only yesterday.

Bell would like to be introducing herself to the newcomers as well, but it seemed most of them were about as wary around humans as she'd worried. Some had politely responded to her introductions, but even they had seemed on edge, and made excuse after excuse to avoid another discussion with her. She might have talked to Simon, Markus or Josh, but they seemed preoccupied with taking care of all the androids, she didn't want to bother them.

So, here she was, sitting on a crate in the corner of the room, watching her child make friend after friend while she wistfully remembered the life they had run away from, despite having only been gone for six days.

It was because of this that she didn't notice North walking up to her until she was standing right in her face, blocking her view of Amari.

“That's my spot.”

“What?” She looked up at her, startled.

“I said, that's my spot. I always sit there, it's got basically the best view of the whole room.”

“Well I mean, if you want to sit here you can. There's enough room for us both.” she scooched over, leaving more than enough room for North to sit, without even being that near her. But of course…

“Yeah, no. Just because I helped you get food the other day doesn't mean I trust you. Why don't you just sit somewhere else?”

And Bellona might have if it weren't for the fact that she was getting pretty tired of North pushing her around like this.

“Look.” she said firmly, standing up to glare at the woman in front of her. “I'm not going to fucking murder you when you turn your head, I'm not secretly plotting to kill you, and I don't have some sort of deadly disease. What I do have, however, are feelings, and I don't appreciate you acting like you can just be a complete bitch to me, just because you don't trust me. You don't want to be near me? Fine! But don't expect me to go out of my way to accommodate that _while you yell at me_.”

Bell sat back down, and looked up at North, waiting for her response. Instead, she got a glare, and the sound of North stomping off.

She sighed, exasperated.

“It's like having a second child, my god.”

 

* * *

 

**November 26th 2038**

**10:11 PM**

North wasn't usually the type to apologize first. Usually, she'd either let whoever she was fighting with come crawling back to _her_ , or she'd just snub them forever. But, this was a special case. Markus had complained to her enough times about being ‘rude’ to Bellona, _and_ she did _sort of_ see her point. She could be kind of hot tempered at times, and it probably wouldn't do her any good to make enemies with the _one_ human on the ship.

So, she swallowed her pride, waited for Bellona to leave the main room, and caught her alone to apologize.

“North! Oh my god, you startled me!”

“Oh,” she responded, feeling a bit… nervous? Feeling a bit nervous as she stood there. “I forgot it was dark, uh, sorry.”

“Oh, yes, Amari does that all the time. I guess when you're used to being able to see fine in dimmer light you don't really think about it. Um… Was there something you wanted to talk to me about?”

“Yeah.” she paused

Bell nodded at her, prompting her to continue.

“Well, I, uh. I thought about what you said this morning, and… I just wanted to… apologize, if I was rude to you this past week. I guess it probably isn't really fair of me to act like that. I'll try to hold off on it unless you do something actually suspicious.” she stared at the floor, awaiting Bell’s response, looking back up at her, surprised, when she heard the other woman begin to laugh.

“Wha- what's funny about that?”

“You- you'll- you'll trust me, but- but you'll be keeping a close eye on me, to- to make sure I don't do anything- anything suspicious?” she managed to get out, between peals of laughter.

“Well, I- I- I still apologized!”

“Yes- yes, I- phew- I know that,” she wiped the tears from her eyes, and straightened herself out, “I just- it was just funny the way you put it is all. Don't worry, I accept your apology.” she smiled, and held out her hand.

“Well.” North responded, staring suspiciously at the hand in front of her, “I guess we're okay then?” She took Bell's hand and shook it, avoiding eye contact as she did.

“Yes, yes we are. Now, if you'll excuse me,” she removed her hand from North's (and North found herself missing the warmth), “I've got to go get some rest. Make sure Amari doesn't get into any trouble okay? She'll listen to you, she thinks you're cool.”

North just nodded, and watched Bellona leave, feeling her stomach hollow out, and drop.

 

* * *

 

**November 27th 2038**

**03:00 PM**

 

North had been avoiding Bell all day. She wasn't mad at her or anything. In fact, there conversation yesterday had been kind of nice, not that she'd admit that to anyone. No, she was just… nervous. She wasn't really sure why, but now that they were… Friends? ... Now that they weren't fighting. She didn't really know what to talk to her about. She had mentioned this to Markus, and Markus had laughed.

“North, just talk to her like you talk to literally any of your other friends. It doesn't seem like she's still mad about how you were talking to her before now, it shouldn't be that much of a problem.”

She ignored him. They weren't even friends, so how did that advice even make sense? No, she was just not going to talk to her. She wasn't going to be aggressive, but she wasn't going to be nice either, no, she was just going to not be there.

And then they literally bumped into each other turning a corner in one of the ship’s many hallways.

“North! I've been wondering where you were! Amari’s been looking for you, to help her play, whatever the game you taught her was, with the other kids. I told her I'd find you for them, and Markus pointed me this way.”

_Markus._

“Oh, yeah, I really liked playing with Amari last time. I'll just go find them right now!” She quickly pushed past Bell, and tried to continue rushing into the main room, but she felt Bellona grab her shoulders before she even made it five feet.

“Wait!” North turned to face her, resigned to being trapped in this conversation, and was shocked to see the expression on the other woman's face. She seemed to be nervous, and maybe even a little bit upset. Oh shit, what did she do wrong?

“Have you been avoiding me?” She asked softly, looking at the ground. “Because, I thought we had made up, and I was hoping maybe we could… hang out, or something? I just- none of the other adults here really trust me, and I was hoping if _you_ did, maybe we- maybe we could be friends”

North felt her face heat up as Bell looked at her, and quickly swallowed the lump in her throat.

“Um… No, yeah, of course! I've just. Been busy today, but… maybe tomorrow?”

Bellona’s face seemed to immediately brighten after that, and North felt herself blush blue again.

“Seriously? God, I feel so pathetic, but it's so goddamn boring on this boat, you know?”

“Oh trust me, I've been here way longer than you. I know.”

“Oh that's true, I'm sorr-”

“Don't worry about it. Look, I should probably go hang out with the kids, but… tomorrow okay?”

“Tomorrow.”


End file.
